290demotion had woken him up—let him see that he’d been riding
on the coattails of others.
Sherrie and Jeff still had their problems. He had a hard time
hearing no from her. And it was difficult for Sherrie to tolerate
the resentment. But there was no way she’d trade problems with
the Sherrie who’d had no boundaries.4:30 P.M.
The session with Todd’s fourth-grade teacher went well. For
one thing, Walt had attended with Sherrie. Knowing he was sup-
portive made a lot of difference. But more important, the hard
boundary work that Sherrie and Walt were doing at home with
Todd was beginning to pay off.
“Mrs. Phillips,” said the teacher, “I’ll admit, I took Todd with
some reservations after consulting with Mrs. Russell, his third-
grade teacher. But there is a significant improvement in your
son’s ability to respond to limits.”
Walt and Sherrie smiled at each other. “Believe me,” Walt
said, “there was no magic formula. Todd hated doing homework,
minding us, and taking responsibility for household chores. But
consistent praise and consequences seem to have helped.”
The teacher agreed. “They really have. Not that Todd’s a
compliant angel—he’ll always speak his mind—and I think
that’s good in a child. But there’s no major struggle in getting
him to behave. It’s been a good year so far. Thank you for your
support as parents.”
5:15 P.M.
As Sherrie fought the afternoon rush-hour traffic, she felt
strangely grateful for it. I can use this time to thank God for my
family and friends—and plan a fun weekend for us.
6:30 P.M.
Amy walked into the family room right on time. “Mother-
daughter time, Mom,” she said. “C’mon outside.”
Boundaries